CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year

CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year

Suvam MaitiUpdated on 12 Nov 2025, 12:30 PM IST

According to the latest notification, the 2.95 lakh candidates will be able to download the CAT 2025 admit card from the official website- iimcat.ac.in. Moreover, the CAT 2025 admit card is released on the IIM CAT official website. Last year, 3.29 lakhs applicants had completed the CAT registration 2024, while 2.93 lakhs candidates appeared for the CAT examination. So, compared to last year, there are approximately 34 thousand fewer CAT registrations this year. This year, CAT 2025 registration started on August 01, 2025, and candidates were able to fill up the CAT 2025 application till September 20, 2025. CAT 2025 will be held on November 30 for MBA admission to IIMs, IITs. NITs, and over 1000 B-schools of the country. Explore the article to learn more about the CAT 2025 application number over the years, the CAT 2025 admit card date, etc.
CAT 2025 Admit Card Download Link

LiveCAT 2025 Result LIVE: IIM Kozhikode to announce scores soon on iimcat.ac.in; cut-off, normalisationDec 23, 2025 | 2:54 PM IST

Some Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have relatively lower CAT cut-offs compared to older IIMs. Newer IIMs such as IIM Jammu, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Sirmaur, and IIM Nagaland generally accept lower CAT percentiles, subject to category-wise cut-offs and section-wise requirements. Final selection also depends on factors such as academic background, work experience, and performance in the interview stage.

Read More

This Story also Contains

  1. CAT 2025 Registration: Decline in Numbers?
  2. CAT Registration over the Years 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023 vs 2022 vs 2021
  3. CAT Registration vs CAT Exam Day Turn Up: 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023
  4. CAT 2025 Admit Card Date Postponed
CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year
CAT 2025 Sees 34,000 Fewer Registrations - Down Nearly 10% from Last Year

CAT 2025 Registration: Decline in Numbers?

As per the latest update by the CAT 2025 conducting body, IIM Kozhikode says CAT 2025 admit card has been generated for 2.95 lakh candidates. IIM Kozhikode has not published any specific numbers regarding how many students have registered for the CAT 2025, but rather has mentioned the number of students who can download the admit card.

CAT Registration over the Years 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023 vs 2022 vs 2021

While in 2024, 2.93 lakhs candidates appeared for the CAT examination, in 2025, 2.95 lakhs candidates has issued the CAT 2025 admit card. The table below shows the CAT registration trends over the years.

Year

CAT Conducting IIMs

Total CAT registrations

Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam

2025

IIM Kozhikode

2.95 Lakhs (Eligible to download Admit Card)

-

2024

IIM Calcutta

3.29 Lakhs

2.93 Lakhs

2023

IIM Lucknow

3.28 Lakhs

2.88 Lakhs

2022

IIM Bangalore

2.55 Lakhs

2.22 Lakhs

2021

IIM Ahmedabad

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

2020

IIM Indore

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

CAT Registration vs CAT Exam Day Turn Up: 2025 vs 2024 vs 2023

Going by the trends of the previous years, it is expected that 87-89% of the CAT 2025 registrations will appear on the day of the examination. So if there is no further alteration in the CAT 2025 admit card download numbers, it is expected that applicants between 2.62 lakhs to 2.56 lakhs will appear for the CAT 2025 examination. Check out the table below for trends regarding CAT registration vs the CAT exam day turn-ups of the previous years.

Year

Total CAT registrations

Total Students Appeared for the CAT exam

% of students appearing for the CAT

2025

2.95 Lakhs (Eligible to download Admit Card)

-

87-89% (based on trends)

2024

3.29 Lakhs

2.93 Lakhs

89

2023

3.28 Lakhs

2.88 Lakhs

87.8

2022

2.55 Lakhs

2.22 Lakhs

87

2021

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

83.4

2020

2.30 Lakhs

1.90 Lakhs

83.4

CAT 2025 Admit Card Date Postponed

The CAT 2025 admit card has been released on November 12, 2025, from 12:00 PM. The new CAT admit card release date 2025 is November 12, 2025. Here are the other CAT 2025 important dates.

CAT 2025 Registration Started

August 01, 2025

The CAT Application 2025 ended

September 20, 2025

CAT 2025 Admit Card Release Date

November 12, 2025

CAT 2025 Examination

November 30, 2025

CAT 2025 Result

December 19/20, 2025

Articles
|
Upcoming Bschool Exams
Ongoing Dates
ACAT Application Date

7 Oct'25 - 26 Jan'26 (Online)

Ongoing Dates
VITBEE Application Date

31 Oct'25 - 12 Apr'26 (Online)

Certifications By Top Providers
Online MBA
Via Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida
Corporate Law
Via National Law University, New Delhi
Online BBA
Via Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida
Strategic Management
Via Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
Direct Tax Laws and Practice
Via Tezpur University, Tezpur
Management of Commercial Banking
Via Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Udemy
 703 courses
Edx
 467 courses
Swayam
 236 courses
Emeritus
 231 courses
Explore Top Universities Across Globe
University of Essex, Colchester
Wivenhoe Park Colchester CO4 3SQ
Oxford Brookes University, Oxford
Headington Campus Oxford OX3 0BP UK
Northumbria University, Newcastle City Campus
Sutherland Building, Northumberland Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE1 8ST
Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff
Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YB
University of Reading, Reading
Whiteknights PO Box 217 Reading Berkshire RG6 6AH
Bristol Baptist College, Bristol
The Promenade, Clifton Down, Bristol BS8 3NJ

Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

CAT does not restrict eligibility based on stream. Candidates from commerce, arts, science, engineering or any other background can appear for CAT and apply to MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top B-schools.

The basic eligibility criteria for CAT are:
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PwD categories). Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.

Being a commerce graduate can actually be an advantage in areas such as accounting, finance, economics and business studies, especially during MBA coursework in finance, marketing and operations.

After qualifying CAT, admission depends on multiple factors including CAT percentile, academic background, work experience (if any), performance in GD, WAT and personal interview rounds. Many IIMs and B-schools follow a diverse academic background policy, which means non-engineering candidates, including commerce graduates, often receive additional weightage.

Apart from IIMs, several reputed institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, and many state and private universities also accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.

So, as a commerce graduate, you are fully eligible to appear for CAT and pursue an MBA, provided you meet the minimum academic requirements and perform well in the selection process.

If you want, I can also help you with realistic CAT percentile targets based on your academic profile or suggest suitable MBA colleges.


Hello aspirant,

With a CAT 2025 raw score of 84 and strong sectionals, your expected percentile may fail in the high 98 range , depending on scaling. Your excellent academics and 2 years of work experience strengthen your profile .IIM Lucknow calls are possible but competitive for EWS engineers , while FMS Delhi looks mainly at CAT score and VARC , so you have a reasonable chance there . Final calls depend on cutoffs and composite score.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutoff

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello aspirant ,

For MANAGE Hyderabad MBA , the OBC cutoff in CAT 2024 was generally around 85-90 percentile for shortlist consideration , tough exact figures vary by section and profile . For CAT 2025, if fewer candidates appeared , the cutoff might slightly adjust , but percentile based cutoffs dont change drastically year to year. A minor decrease is possible , but you should still aim for 90+ percentile to be competitive. Factors like VARC, QA-LRDI and overall profile influence the final shortlist.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutof f

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello,

For a raw score of 56 in CAT 2025 Slot 3, your expected overall percentile is likely to be in the range of the 90th-95th percentile. The exact percentile can vary slightly on the final normalization process and the process and performance of all test-takers. In this article you'll find more about the CAT result.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,
With a projected CAT percentile of 87% but not clearing sectional cutoffs, your chances at top IIMs are limited because they require both overall percentile and sectional minimums. However, you still have a good shot at other reputed management institutes and non-IIM B-schools. Consider colleges like NMIMS, SPJIMR, IMT, TAPMI, Great Lakes, and other well-ranked private or state-level B-schools that accept CAT scores and weigh your profile holistically. Your academic record, BSc in Animation with 80%, and 5 years of work experience at Ubisoft India are strong points and may help in institutes that value work experience in their selection process. Also, explore institutes that accept XAT, MAT, or CMAT, where your profile can be competitive.
Hope this helps you.